This invention relates to a camera optical system, and more particularly to a camera optical system having a nonphotographic lens provided integrally in a photographic lens section for forming an image.
There have been compact cameras with part of the photographic lens cut away and another component provided on the cutaway part.
For example, Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-11116 has disclosed a compact lens which has been realized by cutting the top and bottom of a first lens group in the optical system and incorporating a supplementary optical unit in the cutaway part.
Additionally, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-197237 has disclosed a compact photographic lens which has been realized by cutting the top and bottom of the photographic lens and providing a support member in the cutaway part.
The prior art publications, however, have not disclosed that part of the nonphotographic optical system, including the finder optical system, AE optical system, or AF optical system, is provided in the cutaway part of the photographic lens. For example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI publication No. 9-197237, since the finder optical system has been constructed independently in such a manner that it has branched from the middle of the lens group in the photographic optical system, this causes the problem of making the photographic optical system large.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a compact camera optical system with a nonphotographic lens formed integrally with a photographic lens section for forming an image.